Allardyce’s acquisition strategy earns admiration of his peers

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IT IS appropriate that Eddie Davies, the benefactor and new owner of Bolton Wanderers, should have made his multimillion-pound fortune in the manufacture of electric thermostats for cordless kettles. Sam Allardyce, the manager of his first team, has been a conductor of free-flowing elements ever since he took the heavily indebted club into the Premier League in 2001-02.

Some of the 35 players who have come to the Reebok Stadium since then chose to return to the clubs that loaned them out. Others, such as Iván Campo and Florent Laville, sparked a revival of fortunes and signed on full time